A new tetrapod ichnotaxon from Botucatu Formation, Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian), Brazil, with comments on fossil track preservation on inclined planes and local paleoecology

Buck, Pedro Victor; Ghilardi, Aline Marcele; Peixoto, Bernardo de Campos Pimenta e Marques; Fernandes, Luciana Bueno dos Reis; Fernandes, Marcelo Adorna

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.11.009

Cited by 26 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Gand et al, 1995Gand et al, , 2000Avanzini and Wachtler, 2012;Razzolini et al, 2017;Xing et al, 2018) or entire trackways as types (e.g. Farlow et al, 1989;Nicosia and Loi, 2003;Valentini et al, 2007;Voigt et al, 2013;Aramayo et al, 2015;Buck et al, 2017;Mujal et al, 2017;D'Orazi Porchetti et al, 2018;Lee et al, 2018). The choice of single tracks along trackways as types is driven by the necessity to select the most representative material for the erection of a new ichnotaxa after examining the intra-trackway variability (e.g.…”

Section: Ichnotaxonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Marchetti¹,

Belvedere

Voigt³

et al. 2019

Earth-Science Reviews

143

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The morphology of fossil footprints is the basis of vertebrate footprint ichnology. However, the processes acting during and after trace fossil registration which are responsible for the final morphology have never been precisely defined, resulting in a dearth of nomenclature. Therefore, we discuss the concepts of ichnotaphonomy, ichnostratinomy, taphonomy, biostratinomy, registration and diagenesis and describe the processes acting on footprint morphology. In order to evaluate the morphological quality of tetrapod footprints, we introduce the concept of morphological preservation, which is related to the morphological quality of footprints (M-preservation, acronym MP), and distinguish it from physical preservation (P-preservation, acronym PP), which characterizes whether or not a track is eliminated by taphonomic and diagenetic processes. M-preservation includes all the morphological features produced during and after track registration prior to its study, and may be divided into substages (ichnostratinomic, registrational, taphonomic, stratinomic, diagenetic). Moreover, we propose an updated numerical preservation scale for M-preservation. It ranges from 0.0 (worst preservation) to 3.0 (best preservation); intermediate values may be used and specific features may be indicated by letters. In vertebrate footprint ichnotaxonomy, we regard the anatomy-consistent morphology and to a lesser extent the trackway pattern as the only acceptable ichnotaxobases. Only footprints showing a good morphological preservation (grade 2.0-3.0) are useful in ichnotaxonomy, whereas ichnotaxa based on poor morphological preservation (grade 0.0-1.5) are considered ichnotaphotaxa (nomina dubia) characterized by extramorphologies. We applied the preservation scale on examples from the Palaeozoic to the present time, including three ichnotaphotaxa and 18 anatomy-consistent ichnotaxa/morphotypes attributed to several vertebrate footprint producers. Results indicate the utility, feasibility and suitability of this method for the entire vertebrate footprint record in any lithofacies, strongly recommending its use in future ichnotaxonomic studies.

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Section: Ichnotaxonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Razzolini et al, 2017). Conversely, the choice of trackways as types is driven by the necessity to consider the intra-trackway variability and the trackway pattern and parameters, which are part of the diagnosis (e.g., Buck et al, 2017).…”

Section: Ichnotaxonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Marchetti¹,

Belvedere

Voigt³

et al. 2019

Earth-Science Reviews

143

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“…Made by small tetradactyl quadrupeds of mammaloid affinity with wide feet and short toes, Brasilichnium-like tracks have rounded to transversely oval pes shape, marked heteropody and occur in Late Triassic-Late Cretaceous aeolian dunes and non-aeolian deposits of South and North America as well as Namibia (e.g., [101][102][103][104][105][106]). A larger form of Brasilichnium has recently been named both as B. anaiti by D'Orazi Porchetti et al [105] and as Aracoaraichnium leonardii by Buck et al [107], however Francischini et al [106] assert that these ichnotaxa are "junior subjective synonyms" of the Early Jurassic Navahopus falcipollex (e.g., [102,108,109]).…”

Section: Afrodelatorrichnus Ellenbergeri Ichnosp Novmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking the Pliensbachian–Toarcian Karoo firewalkers: Trackways of quadruped and biped dinosaurs and mammaliaforms

et al. 2020

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The Karoo igneous rocks represent one of the largest continental flood basalt events (by volume) on Earth, and are not normally associated with fossils remains. However, these Pliensbachian-Toarcian lava flows contain sandstone interbeds that are particularly common in the lower part of the volcanic succession and are occasionally fossiliferous. On a sandstone interbed in the northern main Karoo Basin, we discovered twenty-five tridactyl and tetradactyl vertebrate tracks comprising five trackways. The tracks are preserved among desiccation cracks and low-amplitude, asymmetrical ripple marks, implying deposition in low energy, shallow, ephemeral water currents. Based on footprint lengths of 2-14 cm and trackway patterns, the trackmakers were both bipedal and quadrupedal animals of assorted sizes with walking and running gaits. We describe the larger tridactyl tracks as "grallatorid" and attribute them to bipedal theropod dinosaurs, like Coelophysis, a genus common in the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. The smallest tracks are tentatively interpreted as Brasilichniumlike tracks, which are linked to synapsid trackmakers, a common attribution of similar tracks from the Lower to Middle Jurassic record of southern and southwestern Gondwana. The trackway of an intermediate-sized quadruped reveals strong similarities in morphometric parameters to a post-Karoo Zimbabwean trackway from Chewore. These trackways are classified here as a new ichnogenus attributable to small ornithischian dinosaurs as yet without a body fossil record in southern Africa. These tracks not only suggest that dinosaurs and therapsids survived the onset of the Drakensberg volcanism, but also that theropods, ornithischians and synapsids were among the last vertebrates that inhabited the main Karoo Basin some 183 Ma ago. Although these vertebrates survived the first Karoo volcanic eruptions, their rapidly dwindling habitat was turned into a land of fire as it was covered by the outpouring lavas during one of the most dramatic geological episodes in southern Africa.

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“…With respect to the vertebrate trace-fossil record of the Botucatu Formation, there are two ichnospecies of Brasilichnium produced by small mammaliaform organisms: one demonstrating cursorial locomotion described as B. elusivum (Leonardi, 1981;Fernandes & Carvalho, 2008), and the other one in hopping locomotion (D' Orazi Porchetti, Bertini & Langer, 2017a), described as B. saltatorium (Buck et al, 2017b). There is also a record of a burrow compatible with the Brasilichnium elusivum producer (Manes, Da Silva & Scheffler, 2017).…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new insect trackway from the Upper Jurassic—Lower Cretaceous eolian sandstones of São Paulo State, Brazil: implications for reconstructing desert paleoecology

Peixoto

Mángano

Minter

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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The new ichnospecies Paleohelcura araraquarensis isp. nov. is described from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Botucatu Formation of Brazil. This formation records a gigantic eolian sand sea (erg), formed under an arid climate in the south-central part of Gondwana. This trackway is composed of two track rows, whose internal width is less than one-quarter of the external width, with alternating to staggered series, consisting of three elliptical tracks that can vary from slightly elongated to tapered or circular. The trackways were found in yellowish/reddish sandstone in a quarry in the Araraquara municipality, São Paulo State. Comparisons with neoichnological studies and morphological inferences indicate that the producer of Paleohelcura araraquarensis isp. nov. was most likely a pterygote insect, and so could have fulfilled one of the ecological roles that different species of this group are capable of performing in dune deserts. The producer could have had a herbivorous or carnivorous diet or been part of the fauna of omnivores, being able to adopt herbivorous, carnivorous, and saprophagous diets when necessary. In modern dune deserts, some species of pterygote insects are detritivores (like Tenebrionidae), relying on organic matter that accumulated among the sand grains of the dunes during dry periods with no plant growth. The presence of additional burrows suggests that the Botucatu paleodesert would have had a detritivorous fauna like this. Based on the interpretation of the ichnofossil producers, it was possible to reconstruct the food web of this paleodesert. All the omnivorous and herbivorous invertebrates and the herbivorous ornithopod dinosaurs made up the primary consumers. These animals were, in turn, the food source for bigger carnivorous or omnivorous animals unable to feed on detritus, like arachnids, possible predatory insects, mammaliaforms, and theropod dinosaurs. The highest trophic level was occupied by larger theropod dinosaurs and mammaliaforms, which, because of their size, could prey upon a wide range of animals. The producer of Paleohelcura araraquarensis isp. nov. could have been a primary consumer if it were an omnivorous detritivore or a herbivore, or a secondary consumer if it were produced by a predatory insect or an omnivore relying on animal biomass. The description of this new trackway expands the knowledge on the faunal composition of the Botucatu paleodesert and provides insights into the ecological relationships in ancient deserts. The presence of these arthropod trackways in Mesozoic eolian deposits helps to trace a continuity between Paleozoic and post-Paleozoic desert ichnofaunas, further reinforcing a single Octopodichnus—Entradichnus Ichnofacies for eolian deposits.

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A new tetrapod ichnotaxon from Botucatu Formation, Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian), Brazil, with comments on fossil track preservation on inclined planes and local paleoecology

Cited by 26 publications

References 45 publications

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Tracking the Pliensbachian–Toarcian Karoo firewalkers: Trackways of quadruped and biped dinosaurs and mammaliaforms

A new insect trackway from the Upper Jurassic—Lower Cretaceous eolian sandstones of São Paulo State, Brazil: implications for reconstructing desert paleoecology

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